​HBOT for CRPSHow does Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy relate to CRPS? Is it possible to successfully treat CRPS patients with Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?

In this article we will explore this exciting new area of treatment for CRPS patients and present the latest information, articles, studies, etc. and help you make an informed decision.

HYPERBARIC OXYGEN THERAPY – HBOT

“Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (abbreviated HBOT) is a medical treatment that uses high concentrations of oxygen to speed and enhance the body’s natural ability to heal.” “During therapy, the patient breathes 93% oxygen under increased atmospheric pressure. (The air we normally breathe contains only 19-21% of this essential element.) The concentration of oxygen normally dissolved in the bloodstream is thus raised many times above normal (up to 7 times). In addition to the blood, all body fluids including the lymph and cerebrospinal fluids are infused with the healing benefits of this molecular oxygen. It can reach bone and tissues which are inaccessible to red blood cells, enhance white blood cell function, and promote the formation of new capillary and peripheral blood vessels. This results in increased infection control and faster healing of a wide range of conditions.”

As Doctor Allan Spiegel of National Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy discusses on his website, “Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy has proven itself to be a very viable option to treat reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD). Numerous articles in the medical literature have shown the reduction in pain and swelling associated with RSD and a return of function using hyperbaric oxygen. Best of all for CRPS patients, this is accomplished without the need for painful injections, narcotics, or surgical implants for pain management.

Most RSD sufferers find that following the first few treatments they are able to achieve a full night’s sleep for the first time in years. They then notice the decreased need for narcotics, improved thinking, with a diminished depression. The swelling of the effected arm or leg associated with RSD diminishes and they are able to start physical therapy with marked improvement in muscle strength. Many people afflicted with CRPS have then been able to return to a happier and more productive life, frequently returning to their prior occupation.

City Osteopaths Healthcare is very happy to announce we have a new osteopath, Clementine Carnus, joining our team. Clementine is fluent french speaker and will initially be working as a locum in the practice.

Clementine graduated from RMIT University in Melbourne with a Bachelor of Applied Science (Complementary Medicine) and a Masters of Osteopathy. She started studying Osteopathy in France, before moving to Australia in 2008 and finally settling in New Zealand.

She was particularly drawn to osteopathy because of its holistic approach to health and well-being, treating the patient as a whole and not as one local symptom. She was always fascinated by the body’s tendency towards self-healing and at the osteopath’s ability to assist in this process.

Clementine enjoys treating a wide variety of patients. She has a particular interest in treating adolescents, female patients of all ages and patients with ongoing or chronic pain. She uses an integrative approach to chronic pain management and encourages each patient to develop awareness around the role played by mind and emotions in health and dis-ease.

She strongly believes that empowering the patient to be active in their recovery is key to their journey toward health. Health is not merely the absence of disease, so there is always something more we can do.As a long-time yoga practitioner, she has a profound understanding of biomechanics, injury prevention and management. She also appreciates the importance of healthy breathing, a healthy diet and a healthy mind.

Clementine will be working in our city clinic twice a week and also from our beautiful Eastern suburbs (Breaker Bay) clinic. Simple free parking and very relaxing to hear the sea while being treated!.

An eight year old boy presented to our practice with recurrent lung infections for most of the year for the past three years and also pain in the right front hip area which came and went but was annoying him daily. He had difficulty with running as put the same arm and leg forwards instead of using ‘cross patterning’. He had a difficult birth, so had seen an osteopath when he was a baby in another country who had recommended to ‘keep an eye on his back’. He mouth breathed and was generally tired.

​On examination, his torso was side bending to the right with the right hip higher than the left when he stood with feet together, resulting in a difference in leg length. He had considerable tightness in and around his thoracic diaphragm (which is the main muscle of breathing) and irritation through the nerves to his lungs. I suspected a primitive reflex had not been integrated. I also considered and ruled out from the history and examination, any concern of hip or knee joint pathology and decided it was safe to treat him.

The first treatment used gentle osteopathic techniques to begin to reduce the musculoskeletal strains in his back and pelvis and to assist his lung function. He was able to lie down and became very relaxed during the treatment. We discussed the importance of nose breathing and showed him how to work towards this.

On his second visit (which was five months later) his mother was happy to report “he had not any coughs or lung infections over winter and was now breathing much better through his nose”.Two more treatments were required to balance his pelvis and spine with growing. His leg lengths became equal and stayed equal. There had been an issue of non compliance with the thigh stretches he was asked to do which meant this process took a little longer than it need to have.

He is now cross patterning well when he walks and runs and will return in six months time to recheck as he is growing quickly at this time. We want to ensure his body is able to move freely and equally to each side and that he is able to enjoy optimal health into his future.

Thanks for reading. We really love helping kids feel better and enjoy the best health possible. Please leave a comment or ask a question and I will get back to you as soon as I am able. You can also call our practice and one of our practitioners can call you back to answer any specific questions regarding Osteopathy you may have for your child.